Dragon's Hope

by Lili Zander

  “You think?” Bastian’s tone is chiding, but his face shines with pride.

  “He shouldn’t have been able to get through the wards,” Mateo says, his voice tight with worry. “At all. We need a different plan.”

  “You’re right.” Bastian nods grimly. “We’re going to Castle Jaeger. My mother’s wards will protect Aria.”

  “I’m coming too,” Silas says promptly.

  No. Over and over, I keep dreaming about Silas’ throat being slit. I don’t want to leave him alone, not when he’s trying a new, experimental treatment, but I know, deep down inside, that the safest place for him is far away from me.

  “It’s Bastian’s castle,” I say, my voice gentle. “We don’t know how long we’ll be there. You just started a new treatment. You have a girlfriend. I’ll be fine with the guys, Silas. You know that they’ll protect me.”

  “We should leave right away,” Mateo says. “If Zyrian attacks again, I’m not strong enough to fight back tonight.”

  I hug Silas good-bye and try to shake off the premonition of doom that hovers over me.

  23

  Bastian

  I don’t have good memories of Castle Jaeger. I remember wandering through its halls as a child, lonely and miserable. The servants tried their best, but what I wanted was a parent’s love, and both of mine were dead.

  I haven’t been back for almost twenty years. Mateo’s visited more recently than I have, my mother’s library a powerful draw.

  I thought I could keep Aria safe in New York. I hoped that Zyrian’s powers were waning and that we could contain the Dark Dragon. I wanted so much for the curse to be broken, for me to finally have the chance to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. I wanted to spoil and pamper my mate. To see Aria’s eyes sparkle with delight. I wanted to give her everything.

  I thought I could steal a moment or two for myself. To luxuriate in her touch. To hear her moan as I fucked her. To watch her body writhe and twist under mine as I slid into her.

  But Zyrian has other ideas.

  In Castle Jaeger, Maija Essen’s wards hold, and have never been broken.

  Aria will be safe there, and that is the most important thing of all.

  The road snakes up a hill. It’s six in the evening, and it’s dark outside. “This is spooky,” Aria says, her voice a whisper.

  I smile wryly. “And you haven’t even seen the castle yet.”

  We round the bend, and the stone walls come into view. Aria inhales sharply. “Bastian, your castle has a moat. And stone walls. I feel like I’ve gone back hundreds of years in time.” She gives me a sidelong look, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Tell me you have indoor plumbing.”

  I laugh out loud. “The castle was thoroughly renovated five years ago,” I tell her. I never went back to see it, but the designer insisted on sending me pictures every step of the way.

  Mateo, who’s riding in the front seat, turns around. “Did they touch anything in the library?”

  I shake my head. “My mother’s wing remains untouched.”

  He nods in relief. “Good. Your mother’s wards are infinitely stronger than mine. Maybe she’ll have some notes on how to fashion stronger protection for Aria.”

  The convoy of cars pulls up at the front. The massive wooden doors creak open, and a line of staff emerge. “Fuck me,” Aria says softly. “How many people work here?”

  “I’m not sure,” I admit sheepishly. “Wilhelm would know, or Frau Ziegler.”

  Mateo rolls his eyes. “The butler and the housekeeper,” he explains. “They’re both wolf shifters. The Helferich pack lives on the grounds of Castle Jaeger and maintains the building and the grounds in exchange for Bastian’s protection.”

  Aria surveys the assembled people with wide eyes. “Every time I manage to forget how rich you are,” she mutters, “something like this happens and reminds me that we’re from very different worlds.”

  She’s freaking out. There’s no pizza here to distract her, but I have something that might be almost as good. “Underneath the castle is my vault,” I tell my mythology-loving mate. “And in it is Gungnir.”

  It works exactly as intended. Her face brightens, and her eyes sparkle with anticipation. “Let’s go see it.”

  24

  Aria

  Castle Jaeger feels alive.

  The moment I cross the threshold, a shock runs through me, and then a blanket of protection falls over me. For the first time in days, I’m free of Zyrian’s attempts to break into my mind, and until the burden is gone, I didn’t realize how heavy it’d become.

  Mateo takes a deep breath. “You feel it, don’t you?” he asks me.

  “Feel what?” Bastian is doing the meet-and-greet with the waiting castle staff, but he looks up when he hears Mateo’s question.

  “Zyrian’s absence,” I reply. “It feels like a weight off my shoulders. You can’t feel it?” Their blood is shoring up my ward too.

  Casius shakes his head. “Only Mateo has magic,” he replies, his eyes speculative. “And you.”

  Yay. More mystery.

  Five hours later, I’ve showered, eaten dinner, seen the spear of Odin and am struggling to stay awake. Bastian catches me trying to suppress a yawn and gives me an indulgent smile. “Go to sleep, mausezähnchen,” he says. “I’ll give you the tour of the castle in the morning.”

  “It’s five in the evening in New York. I don’t even know why I’m sleepy.”

  “I do,” Mateo replies, getting to his feet. “Thanks to Zyrian, none of us has gotten much rest in the last week. We can make plans in the morning. Tonight, I’m going to get a good night’s sleep.” He offers me his hand. “I’ll walk you to your room.”

  He leads me through three grandly furnished rooms and then turns right. “I’m going to be lost here a lot,” I say, shaking my head in confusion.

  He chuckles. “I’ve been turned around more than once, and I’ve been coming here for hundreds of years. Here you go. Third door on the right in the corridor with the red carpet.”

  I roll my eyes. “As if I’m going to remember that.” Standing on tiptoe, I kiss Mateo’s cheek. “Do you mind if I don’t invite you in?”

  “Not in the slightest.” His blue eyes are understanding. “You’re wiped. Get some rest, tesoro.” He brushes a warm kiss across my lips. “Good night.”

  I change into my flannel PJs and fall into bed. In less than a minute, I’m out like a light.

  Aria. Wake up.

  I jerk up in my bed. Zyrian? I thought I was safe from him here.

  The voice in my head seems amused. I’m not Gideon. Come.

  Come where? I’m going to stay right where I am, thankyouverymuch. Following strange voices in the middle of the night seems a pretty dumb thing to do.

  Come if you want to find out what you are.

  Damn it. I slide into my fuzzy slippers and pull a robe around my shoulders. Bastian’s castle is cold at night. There’s a fireplace in my room that was lit earlier, but the flames have died down. “Where do you want me to go?” I ask out loud.

  Great. I’m talking to a voice in my head.

  You’ll know.

  Umm, okay. That’s not the slightest bit helpful at all. I make my way down the corridor. Something tugs me toward a small iron door. The moment I touch the doorknob, it swings open, and I see another long dark corridor.

  “Are you nuts?” I ask my imaginary voice. “I’m not going down there. I can’t see in the dark.”

  The moment I finish my sentence, torches set in the wall blaze to life. Not creepy at all.

  Gathering up my courage, I make my way down the dusty corridor. This must be an unused portion of the castle, because every room I’ve been in so far has been spotless. Frau Ziegler must be an energetic cleaner.

  Another door swings open at the far end of the corridor as I approach. It’s Bastian’s castle, I tell myself, trying to calm my racing pulse. It’s perfectly safe here.

  I go through that doorway. Opposite the
door is an archway. Beyond it is a stairway heading down. I take a deep breath and start descending.

  The stairway seems to lead on forever. By the time I’m at the bottom, my knees are shaking, and my muscles tremble. It’s embarrassing. I’ve got to start spending more time in the gym.

  Here you are.

  There’s a blaze of light, and I can see. I’m standing in an enormous underground chamber, and in front of me is a massive, red-scaled dragon, surveying me with slitted jade-green eyes.

  I can’t help myself. I scream and start to back up. The creature seems to roll its eyes. Norms. Two eyes in their heads but they cannot see. Use your senses, girl. I’m not really here.

  Use my senses. Good idea. Now would be a great time for some protective magic threads. I close my eyes and try to find Mateo, but the blanket of protection I felt the moment I stepped into Castle Jaeger seems thicker now. The dragon chuckles. You’re right, it says. You can’t reach the mage. Not unless I want you to. It’s just you and me, Aria.

  “Are you going to hurt me?”

  The dragon snorts, and its tail twitches. If I wanted to hurt you, you’d be dead.

  Fair enough. I step back into the room. “Who are you?”

  Finally, a sensible question. It shifts its position, and I catch a glimpse of a large painting on the far wall. In an opulent, sun-lit chamber, a red dragon is hunched over an egg, its wings protectively furled around it. Two women are nearby, their faces etched with worry.

  I look at the painting, then to the dragon, and back again. “That’s you?” Understanding fills me. “You’re Bastian’s mother. Maija Essen.”

  I am a memory of the past, sent to the future so I may talk to you, the dragon replies. I’m not real. But yes. When I existed, I was the Silver Mage.

  I’d imagined Bastian’s mother to be a kindly old lady, but Maija Essen isn’t anything of the sort. Dangerous. Powerful. Mysterious.

  Yes, yes. She sounds impatient now. You can pay homage later. Look again at the painting.

  I can see where Bastian gets his bossiness from. I take a closer look at the picture, and my heart starts to race. One of the women in the painting has long blonde hair. She looks exactly like me. “Who is that?” I ask through suddenly dry lips.

  Her name was Halla Northridottir. She was my maid.

  “She’s my ancestor.”

  Maija Essen nods. Come forward. She holds out her paw, and I see a ring dangling from a sharp claw. Put the ring on, and you will see everything.

  It might be dangerous, but I don’t care. I’m too close to the answer. I take three shaking steps toward the dragon, and slide the ring on my finger…

  …And I’m somewhere else.

  “You’re inside my memories.” The woman by my side is wearing a rich gold brocade gown, and her long black hair hangs in loose curls down her back. “Watch. All will be made clear.”

  We’re in the sunlight room in the painting. A heavily-pregnant woman is lying on the bed. Maija Essen in human form, I assume. Halla Northridottir hovers next to her, wringing her hands together. “My Lady. It is time.”

  “Yes.” She sits up on the bed, and there’s so much sorrow on her face that I want to give her a hug and tell her it’s all going to be okay. Except I know it isn’t. I’ve heard this story from Bastian. Maija Essen will die in childbirth, and her husband, Johannes Jaeger will fall into a grief-stricken sleep upon her death, and he will never wake from it.

  Childbirth should be a time of joy, yet in the room, Maija Essen looks like the world is about to end. With sudden awareness, I turn to the woman at my side. “You knew you were going to die, didn’t you?”

  “Watch,” she says.

  Pregnant-Maija holds out her palm and closes her eyes. When she opens them, the Bloodstone glitters on her hand.

  I lean forward. I’ve seen the gem a thousand times, but I’ve never seen it like this, whole and unadorned. There’s no golden dragon guarding it. It’s just a beautiful, deep-red ruby, pure and untouched.

  “Every path before me ends in destruction,” pregnant-Maija says. “All is dark. Magic is going to be poisoned. We are going to lose our mates. Within a year, five families will be hunted and killed.” Tears roll down her cheeks. “It is not a gift to see the future, Halla. It is a curse.”

  “Every curse has a way out, my Lady,” the maid says. That’s my girl, I want to cheer. Well, that’s my great-great-lots-of-great-grandmother.

  Her words seem to give the dragon mage new hope. “You’re right, Halla.” She runs her thumb over the Bloodstone, and a piece of it breaks off in her hand. She surveys the now-flawed gem for a long second, and I watch, transfixed, as the gold dragon forms around the chipped ruby. “That’ll guard it against any further harm,” she says. “Now for this.” She transfers her attention to the blood-red chip, and once again, the grief on her face makes my breath catch.

  “I cannot force you to do this, old friend,” she says softly. “It has to be done of your own free will.”

  “You’re not forcing me, my Lady.” The maid Halla steps up to the bed, her head held high. “I want to help. I choose this.”

  “Then, I, Maija Essen, offer you my gratitude in return.” She places her palm, the one with the Bloodstone fragment against Halla’s stomach. For an instant, the air turns red, and I see threads of magic in the air.

  Then it’s gone.

  And I’m back in the underground room.

  Do you understand? The dragon asks me.

  I finally do. It’s why the Bloodstone has always felt like a part of me. It’s why it’s always been a part of my dreams. It’s why I’ve been able to sense it. “A piece of the Bloodstone is inside me.”

  Yes. You hold the last bit of untainted magic in the universe. You’ve been drawing on its power your entire life.

  “So I’m Norm.”

  The dragon unfurls its wings, slowly and lazily. Your parents were Norm, it says finally. You are… unique.

  I have so many questions. Why did my mother try to kill me? Did Maija Essen know when she planted the Bloodstone into Halla’s body that I would be the subject of her prophecy? Did she intend for me to have five dragon mates?

  Instead of blurting all of them out, I ask the most important question of all. “How do I stop Zyrian?”

  She shakes her head. I’m forbidden from telling you anything else, Aria. She’s starting to fade. I can only tell you one thing. You are all that’s standing between the dragons and utter ruin.

  Fuck. No pressure there. None at all.

  To be continued…

  Dragon’s Ruin - part 4 of the Blood Prophecy series, will be released March 22, 2018. Click here to pre-order it today!

  If you read on Kindle Unlimited, sign up to Lili’s mailing list to be notified when the next instalment is released.

  The Blood Prophecy Series

  Don’t miss any of the books.

  Dragon’s Thief

  Dragon’s Curse

  Dragon’s Hope

  Dragon’s Ruin - releasing Mar 22

  Dragon’s Treasure

  Subscribe to Lili Zander’s mailing list and be the first to find out when new Blood Prophecy books are released!

  About the Authors

  Lili Zander is the sci-fi romance loving alter-ego of Tara Crescent. She lives in Toronto. She enjoys reading sci-fi and fantasy, and thinks a great romance makes every book better.

  Find Lili/Tara at:

  www.lilizander.com | www.taracrescent.com

  www.facebook.com/authorlilizander | www.facebook.com/tara.crescent

  Email her at taracrescent@gmail.com or lili@lilizander.com

  Mailing list: http://lilizander.com/draekon-mate-bonus/

  Rory Reynolds is a stay-at-home mom of two little monsters. She's a ravenous reader of romance and firmly believes that you can never have too many book boyfriends.

  She writes feisty heroines, alpha heroes, and panty drenching smut with happily ever afters.

  Email: autho
rroryreynolds@gmail.com

  Facebook: http://bit.ly/2ePjbgL

  Twitter: @RoryReynoldsBks

  Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/clcRNv

  Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2eq5PHW

  Books by Lili Zander

  Exiled to the Prison Planet (Sci-fi dragon-shifter menage romance)

  Draekon Mate - Viola’s story

  Draekon Fire - Harper’s story

  Draekon Heart - Ryanna’s story

  Draekon Abduction - Olivia’s story

  Draekon Destiny - Felicity’s story - coming soon!

  Adventures of Suzie and the Alien (smutty alien goodness!)

  Adventures of Suzie and the Alien (Episodes 1-5)

  Which includes:

  Episode 1: The Alien, the Doctor and the Virgin

  Episode 2: The Alien Trains the Virgin

  Episode 3: The Alien, the Virgin and the Warrior Queen

  Episode 4: Tentacle Monsters and the Virgin

  Episode 5: The Virgin Returns Home

  BOOKS BY TARA CRESCENT

  MÉNAGE ROMANCE

  The Playing for Love Series (Ménage MFM Romance)

  Betting on Bailey | Gambling with Gabriella | Playing with Piper | Wagering on Wendy | Messing with Miki

  The Dirty Series (Ménage MFM Romance)

  Dirty Therapy | Dirty Talk | Dirty Games | Dirty Words

  The Cocky Series (Ménage MFM Romance)

  Her Cocky Doctors | Her Cocky Firefighters